I am 5'6. Originally I was shooting for a goal weight of 160, but in studying the percentile charts (particularly those at halls.md) I found that my height is in the 75th percentile for women my age. The weight in the corresponding percentile is 180.
But I can still hear people hollering (particularly mother) that 180 is still overweight. I'm sure a lot of doctors would still put me in the obese category if I weighed 180, but I think I'd be happy and comfortable with it. I don't care about looking like a supermodel or a beauty contestant.
Are you saying that the 75th percentile weight for women is 180 or for women who are 5'6"? All the percentile means is that 75% of women are shorter than you. If the 75th percentile for female weight is 180, that just means that 75% of ALL women (not just women your height) weigh less than 180. It has nothing to do with what is a healthy weight or not, it is just a statistical measurement of the size of people. I would go with what weights are deemed healthy for your height, not percentiles of what weight people actually are.
I'm the same height and when I weighed 180, I was still significantly overweight.
Technically 180 is not obese at 5'6" but it is overweight. Get there and see how it feels. You may change your goal weight several times as you move down.
Like Nada said, get to 180 and reevaluate. I'm also 5'6" and my "goal" is also 160. But, that being said, I've made a pact with myself to decide if I'm comfortable where I am at each size drop. At 190, I'd still be overweight (probably still "obese") but if I'm happy, healthy and comfortable there, it's a whole lot better than 255.
Besides, it's not like you can't take time to decide whether or not to lose more. At 180, you might be comfortable for a while or forever. You can always start your efforts again to lose a little more. There's no reason to keep your goal hard and fast in your mind - it will only stress you out!
At 5'6", I was at 180-185 for 10 years. I did feel pretty comfortable at that weight, perhaps a little too comfortable. I had lost from an all time high of 248 over the course of 1 1/2 years. I did regular cardio 5x a week for 30 minutes too, but my eating was still pretty much out of control. Then we had a family crisis and I put on 15-20 lbs over the course of a year and stopped exercise all together. I felt like crap, both physically and emotionally.
I'm not trying to tell you that 180 is too high because for some it's great. I could shop in regular stores--a size 16. But was I healthy? No, my bp was too high and I was retaining alot of water. I would instead aim for 180 as a mini-goal, but continue lower. Let your body decide where it really wants to be.
I suggest mini goals. They're more fun anyway. I'm particular fond of really mini goals. LOL! Forget the big goal. It's completely arbitrary until you actually get there. It's arbitrary for everyone. None of us knows how we'll feel at our "goal" weight. But I know I'm going to be pretty stoked when I finally get to that 203 on my ticker.
I am 5'5.5" and just got down to 180. I feel so much more comfortable than I used to feel. If you feel good when you get to 180 and have any easy time maintaining then I say great. I've often read the advice that losing just 10% of you body weight drastically decreases your health risks. You will have more than done that. Also it is so much better than going down to a weight you are not comfortable with and have such a hard time maintaining that you might consider giving up.
In answer to the question, the percentile was for women who were 5'6. It just seems to me that if I'm in the 75th percentile for height, I would be more average and proportional if I were also in the 75th percentile for weight. And as LizR alluded to, I don't want to get down to a weight I'd have trouble maintaining. I've been in the 160 range before, but that was 26 years ago when I was still in my teens and three months pregnant with my first child.
I can't have tickers yet, but I'd love to be able to visually track my progress. I forgot to weigh at the Y today, darn it! First day at that facility. I was busy trying to find my way around. But I'll be back. In fact, I'm going back tomorrow.
One reason I was thinking 180 might be fine for me is that I am naturally stocky and muscular, plus all of our family is big-boned, even the ones who are skinny.
I like the advice to do mini-goals. I set one at 230, since I always seem to stall at 240, and I want to see if I can get past it this time. At last weigh-in, which was actually a couple of months ago, I was 270. I hadn't been able to work out safely for several weeks due to a sprained hip, and today was my first day working out again. But I've been eating on plan, and my clothes are looser. I just don't know how much poundage, if any, I've lost since I last weighed. Should I set an even mini-er goal than 230?
Last edited by LovebirdsFlying; 01-19-2010 at 10:29 PM.
We all have to make our own decisions. I'm 5'5" and trying to get back down to 175 -- near my recent low. Definitely overweight for my height but a great weight for me after nearly 300 !
Rethinking my goal
I'm particular fond of really mini goals. LOL! Forget the big goal. It's completely arbitrary until you actually get there. It's arbitrary for everyone. None of us knows how we'll feel at our "goal" weight. But I know I'm going to be pretty stoked when I finally get to that 203 on my ticker. 
